Golden Grove Trust v The Commissioners for HMRC
Decision date: 5 January 2023
Neutral citation: [2023] UKFTT 27 (TC)
Overall AI summary confidence: high
Short overview
This short overview is intended to summarise the case, issues and outcome so far as they are supported by the judgment.
AI confidence in this short overview: high
The First-tier Tribunal refused Golden Grove Trust permission to make late appeals against a VAT assessment and a decision disallowing input tax, finding delays of about 2 years 4 months and 1 year 3 months respectively. The Tribunal held there was no good reason for the delays, attributing primary responsibility to the Trust's agent (Mr Warne) and shared blame by the Trust from 27 May 2021, and refused permission after balancing prejudice and weak merits. The decision records the right to seek permission to appeal to the Upper Tribunal.
Ratio decidendi
This summary is intended to identify the ratio decidendi, meaning the legal reasons for deciding and the binding part of the decision.
AI confidence in this ratio decidendi summary: high
The Tribunal treated compliance with statutory appeal time limits as requiring significant weight in applications for permission to file late appeals, and held that ordinary reliance on an adviser will not usually constitute a good reason for missing those limits; misleading or obstructive conduct by an adviser may be relevant but does not ordinarily displace the public interest in timely appeals.
Obiter dicta
This summary is intended to identify obiter dicta, meaning observations made by the way that were not necessary to deciding the case and are not binding.
AI confidence in this obiter dicta summary: medium
The Tribunal observed that if an applicant's proposed appeal is effectively hopeless, permission should generally be refused to avoid wasting resources, and noted that pandemic-related disruptions and office closures may explain practical difficulties but do not automatically justify long unexplained delays without corroborating evidence.